Events | Diggin in PA

Events | Diggin in PA

Diggin in PA

On the weekend of April 15-17, 2016, HPHA had the pleasure of hosting "Diggin in PA", which brought about 150 of the nicest folks you could meet to the Strawbridge Farm to hunt for buried treasure. The event was organized by HPHA member George Savino and attracted metal detecting aficionados from as far away as Florida and Oregon for an opportunity to look for artifacts on a colonial plantation.

On the weekend of April 15-17, 2016, HPHA had the pleasure of hosting "Diggin in PA", which brought about 150 of the nicest folks you could meet to the Strawbridge Farm to hunt for buried treasure.

This event has also been a significant fund-raiser for HPHA and we thank George Savino and all those who participated for your interest in the farm and your generosity. The funds raised will be put to good use in further restoring and preserving the living history here at the Penrose-Strawbridge Farm.

The 101 acre Penrose-Strawbridge Farm makes up the largest remaining parcel of what was originally Pennsylvania's Lt Governor Sir William Keith's 1700+ acre estate called Fountain Low, Keith's son-in-law, Dr. Thomas Graeme, renamed it Graeme Park in 1739.

This land has been part of a farm since 1718 and has been cultivated for much of that time, but Graeme Park was also host to 3 Revolutionary War Encampments: General "Mad" Anthony Wayne for 10 days in August, 1777, and Major General James Armstrong at Christmas 1777, joined on New Year's Eve by Brigadier General John Lacey Jr. There were probably 2000 men camped here at that time. General Washington is also said to have been a guest at Graeme Park.

The dig has shown that at least some of those soldiers were camped right here in 1777, around what would later become the Penrose-Strawbridge House. Numerous musket balls, buttons, and other colonial era artifacts were unearthed all around the farm, especially in the large field between the stream and County Line Road.